After rising at a ridiculous hour for a Saturday, I met up with Trenna, my friend who, it turns out, had been up shooting all night long and hadn’t actually slept yet. So no complaints about 6am on a Saturday from me.
We were awake to take the bus to London (Ontario) to embrace harmony and understanding (ie: see Hair). And we weren’t the only ones on our way to the great metropolis: we literally got the last two seats on the Greyhound. We puttered away, leaving a dozen people in the dust. I hope they got to where they were going.
The Toronto bus station is depressing.
After some lunch at the Church Key and a bit of window-shopping on Richmond Row (I found a shop that reminded me exactly of my favourite one in Norwich), Trenna went back to our hostel for a much-needed nap and I walked around. ACBB is a cute, friendly, and central house, though lacking in heat and hot water this weekend. They gave us extra blankets, though, and it ended up being a relatively toasty night.
Seller of stuff.
London getting ready for a race.
This is a tree. You can find it in London.
Other native plants of London grow neon and sturdy.
On my walk, I found the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame attached to the tourist office. I got to read all about important Canadian medical pioneers and learned a great deal in the short time I was there. Did you know that the “Drake Clip,” used to cure aneurisms, was designed by Dr. Charles Drake, the Chairman of the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences at the University of Western Ontario (ie- a Londoner!)? Note: when you Google “Drake clip,” video clips of songs by that Degrassi kid come up first.
The first pace-maker.
Covent Garden Market.
But enough with pictures of London- we were there for Hair, long beautiful hair (long, straight, curly, fuzzy, snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty, oily, greasy, fleecy, shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen, knotted, polka dotted, twisted, beaded, braided, powered, flowered and confettied, bangled, tangled, spangled and spahettied hair!)
Hair at the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario.
I didn’t know anything about Hair, really, except that it was about hippies letting the sunshine in. Turns out it has nothing to do with Five Man Electrical Band’s song “Signs.”
The play’s script is messy and makes no sense (which is fine because it just kinda made me feel like I was stoned too), but the songs were mostly amazing, the performances rocked the house, and the set/costumes/look/atmosphere were great. We were given daisies at the end and then dragged on stage to dance with the cast singing Let the Sunshine In. I can put that on my resumé, right?
We left on a high and waited like groupies at the stage door.
Leaving with flowers in our hair.
And we took more embarrassing pictures:
Posing with posters- this makes us real “Hair-heads,” right?
Me and Paul (poster version)
Me and the über-talented Paul Dunn (star of the stage!), drinks-after-the-show-at-the-Church-Key version.
Things I learned about London, Ontario:
-There is vomit under the bridge. A lot of vomit.
-You will wait a long long time if you respect traffic lights.
-They name things after London, England (from the Thames to Covent Garden).
-Their parking lots are colourful (see below).
Pretty parking lot.
Trenna is an alien.
